A young woman called emergency services claiming she felt followed in Pildammsparken, Malmö, on October 24. Police initially investigated the incident as a suspected assault, but she is now suspected of gross false alarm. The prosecutor's office states that evidence suggests the emergency call was false.
On the evening of October 24, around 7 p.m., a young woman called 112 claiming she felt followed in Pildammsparken, Malmö's largest park spanning 45 hectares. The call cut off, but police located the woman and took her to the hospital. Several patrols were dispatched, parts of the park were cordoned off, and a major police operation began. The incident was initially investigated as a suspected assault rape, or gross rape.
The investigation has now turned. According to the Swedish Prosecution Authority, there are grounds to suspect that the details in the emergency call were false, and the woman has been notified of suspicion of gross false alarm. "Information has emerged that provides reason to suspect that the details in the emergency call were false," the authority states in a press release.
Police investigation leader Håkan Larsson confirms the suspicions. "We have progressed far enough in this rape investigation that we have now notified this woman, who claims to have been victimized, of suspicion of gross false alarm," he tells Aftonbladet. Larsson states that the woman is not believed to have been subjected to any rape. She has been interviewed twice as a complainant in the rape investigation and once regarding the false alarm. Police decline to comment on exactly what led to the suspicions.
The Prosecution Authority has not provided further details. The incident has drawn attention in Malmö, where Pildammsparken is a popular spot, but no contradictions appear in the investigation across sources.